Hugh Sloan Named New Spartan Motors Chairman

Spartan Motors Inc. announced a planned leadership transition and new appointment to the board of directors aimed at continuing to strengthen the company’s governance and board depth.

According to a news release, the moves include the planned retirement of David Wilson from his position as chairman of the board effective at the 2010 annual meeting. Wilson has been a member of the board since 1996 and has served as chairman since 2002.

“David presided over the board during Spartan’s most rapid period of growth, and under his guidance we have been able to maintain positive earnings, increase sales and position ourselves for future growth,” said John Sztykiel, president and CEO of Spartan Motors. “We are grateful for his vision and leadership, and thank him for his lasting contributions.”

Spartan Motors said the board has elected Hugh Sloan, 69, to become chairman at the 2010 annual meeting. Sloan has been an independent member of Spartan’s board since 2007, serving on the audit and compensation committees. He has over 35 years of experience in the automotive industry, most notably with Woodbridge Foam Corp., a $1 billion global supplier of polyurethane foam, where he served as president, automotive, and deputy chairman of the board, and Budd Canada Inc., where he served as a director, president and general manager.

Sloan serves on the boards of directors of Woodbridge Foam Corp., Manulife Financial and Wescast Industries Inc., where he is lead director.

He is also a former staff assistant to President Richard Nixon. Sloan held a key post in the Nixon administration as treasurer of Nixon’s re-election campaign. According to the Washington Post, Sloan once said he never wrote a Watergate book because he thought it would be wrong “to make money off, in essence, sending people to jail.”

Sloan quit his job at the Committee for the Re-election of the President less than a month after the Watergate burglary. Sloan later testified against his former co-workers and became a critical source to Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.

Before taking the campaign treasurer’s post, Sloan worked at the Republican National Committee and as a scheduling aide to the president.

Sloan also is a former trustee of Princeton University and served as chairman of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada (APMA) and as a founding director of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) in the United States.

“The legacy David built during his tenure will shape the direction of Spartan for years to come,” said Sloan. “I am honored to have the opportunity to build on his work as we enter new markets with the integration of our acquisition of Utilimaster, and continue pursuing new avenues of growth.”

Spartan also announced the appointment of Richard F. (Rick) Dauch, president and CEO of Acument Global Technologies Inc., to the company’s board of directors. Dauch will serve as an independent director.